A man from Illinois who suffers from chronic kidney disease has chosen the nationwide law firm of Bernstein Liebhard LLP to represent him in a Nexium lawsuit. A complaint recently by filed the Firm on his behalf claims that AstraZeneca failed to warn patients and doctors about renal complications that may accompany long-term use of the popular proton pump inhibitor.

In an interview with Bloomberg Law, Bernstein Liebhard LLP partner Daniel Burke revealed that his Firm has received hundreds of inquires from patients who allegedly suffered kidney disease, kidney failure or other renal complications following treatment with Nexium or another proton pump inhibitor. The Nexium lawyers in his office are investigating the medical records of a number of potential clients, and Mr. Burke predicted that the litigation involving the widely-used heartburn dugs could become large enough to warrant the creation of a multidistrict litigation or other centralized court proceeding.

According to an August 26th filing in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, the client currently being represented by Bernstein Liebhard LLP was treated with Nexium on various occasions between September 2006 and September 2013, and diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in 2008. The complaint alleges that since Nexium was brought to market, AstraZeneca has received numerous case reports of kidney and related injuries in patients who had taken the drug, including incidents involving acute interstitial nephritis, acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease and renal failure.

“These reports of numerous injuries put Defendants on notice as to the excessive risks of injuries related to the use of Nexium,” the complaint states. “However, Defendants took no action to inform Plaintiff or Plaintiff’s physicians of this known risk. Instead, Defendants continued to represent that Nexium did not pose any risks of kidney injuries.”

Nexium and the Kidneys

Proton pump inhibitors like Nexium, Prilosec and PrevAcid were prescribed to some 15 million Americans in 2013. However, some research has suggested that a large percentage of these prescriptions are inappropriate, raising concerns that the drugs are being overused. In recent years, several studies have linked these medications to an increased risk of kidney problems, including a Canadian study published in 2015 that suggested seniors treated with proton pump inhibitors were 2.5 times more to experience an acute injury compared to those who did not take the drugs.

In January, a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine linked the long-term use of proton pump inhibitors to an increased risk of chronic kidney disease. And this past April, researchers with the Department of Veterans Affairs reported that patients who used proton pump inhibitors appeared to be 96% more likely to develop kidney failure and 28% more likely to develop chronic kidney disease after five years of use.